She's A Rebel
by WHENICOMEAROUND
Summary: Emily may be a little tough around the edges, but she's definitely something special.
1. Extrordinary Girl

Charlie bid Claire good-bye and headed for the path towards the stream. Claire had given him a lot to think about in the few minutes they'd been talking. But Charlie had had nothing but Claire on his mind since... well, since that first day on the plane.  
But Charlie was about to get one more thing to think about.  
He broke through the vegetation that lead to the small spring where the survivors filled their water. But he was surprised to see someone bent over the water. She didn't appear to see Charlie.  
Charlie almost opened his mouth to apologize, but then he realized she was very intently absorbed by what she was doing, so Charlie was unseen. He backed away from the clearing and stood behind a tree to watch her at work. He didn't know who the girl was. You'd think, after spending so many days on an island with these people, you'd know everyone. The girl seemed like she was in her teens. She had brown hair and blue eyes, and she'd been filling water bottles. But that didn't tell him who she was.  
Charlie turned around to watch her once more, to see if he could identify the girl. But she was gone. He backed away from the tree and headed to the spring. "Hey, you!" Charlie dropped his water in surprise and turned to see the girl standing there.  
"Oh, hello!" said Charlie. "Don't believe we've me. Name's Charlie, what's yours"  
Charlie held out a hand.  
"Emily Van Halen," said the girl, shaking Charlie's hand. She had an Australian accent like Claire's. "You look like you could use some help with those- should I"  
"Please," said Charlie. He let Emily help him pick up some of the bottles, which belonged to most of the people who lived in the caves.  
"So, Emily." said Charlie. "You here with your parents"  
Emily stopped in her tracks. "My- my parents? Um, no. I'm not"  
"Family?" asked Charlie.  
"No... no family." she mumbled. Then she clutched her stomach. "Ow. Sorry"  
"You all right?" asked Charlie. Emily doubled over. "Yeah, I'm..." but she turned around and vomited.  
"AH!" yelped Charlie. "Emily... Emily, are you all right"  
Emily couldn't respond. Her face was white as a ghost, and she couldn't seem to stop throwing up.  
But as soon as it started, it stopped. "Emily!" cried Charlie, who didn't know the first thing about kids. For God's sake, he was a musician, not a pediatrician! "Are you all right? Do you want to see Jack"  
"Who's Jack?" asked Emily.  
"The doctor, he can help you." said Charlie. Emily gathered up her stuff. "Look. I don't need help from anyone. I'm just fine, okay"  
She stalked off.  
Charlie, however, didn't let her go that easily. That night, he said to the doctor:  
"Jack... I need your help"  
"Sure, Charlie. What is it?" said Jack.  
Charlie pointed to a corner near some trees, where Emily was curled up, sleeping. She shivered.  
"Yeah, do you know who she is?" asked Jack.  
"Her name's Emily Van Halen. But she wouldn't tell me where she's from or who she's with. She didn't want to talk about her parents, but she said she's not here with anyone"  
"Uh-huh," said Jack. "There's more, isn't there"  
"Yes." said Charlie. "When we were walking back from the spring, she vomited"  
"Did- did she seem sick at all?" asked Jack.  
"No, I didn't suspect a bloody thing!" said Charlie. "And there's one more thing"  
"What's wrong, Charlie?" asked Jack.  
"She wasn't in the manifest"

The second he heard this, Jack called all the survivors together and asked them all if they knew Emily. "She sat next to me on the plane!" said someone from the beach. "She introduced herself as Lucy, but I didn't talk to her much"  
Jack glanced at Kate, who was standing next to him. She looked at the manifest in her hands.  
"Lucy Van Halen." said Kate, pointing to a name. "An alias?" But by that time it was late at night, and Emily was asleep.  
"Let her sleep," said Jack to Kate. "She's probably dehydrated, from what Charlie said"  
Kate nodded. Jack left.  
Kate covered her with a blanket and gently stroked her cheek.  
"We'll help you." she whispered to the sleeping soul. "Don't worry"  
When Emily woke up in the morning, she was greeted by Charlie, who was holding out a water bottle.  
"Here. Drink this"  
Emily accepted the water. "Thanks. What's going on"  
A man approached them.  
"Emily," said Charlie. "This is Jack. Mind if he checks you out a little bit, just to see if you're okay"  
Emily nodded weakly.  
"Can you tell me what your name is?" asked Jack.  
"Emily. Emily Van Halen." "Drink the water please, Emily. You know, your name wasn't in the manifest"  
Emily pushed back the blanket. "You know, I'm really feeling much better. You don't really need to"  
"Nonsense," said Jack. "Sit down, you're still weak. How old are you, Emily"  
"Look, doctor"  
"Jack"  
"Huh"  
"Call me Jack. Doctor Shepard is my father"  
"Oh," said Emily. "Right. Jack. I don't need your help, or anyone elses'. I'm just fine on my own, all right"  
"We still need to know who you are," said Charlie. "Couldn't you please just tell us"  
"Who were you on the plane with?" asked Jack. "No- no one, but"  
"Know a Lucy Van Halen"  
"Yes, but she's"  
"Is she dead? Did she die in the crash? Or is she, perhaps, you"  
"Dude!" said Emily. "I don't need your sodding help. Just leave me alone, all right"  
"We just want to know your story"  
"Yeah, well..." Emily stood up and turned around. "You couldn't take my story"  
She left.  
"So?" asked Saiid, approaching. "Any luck"  
"She wouldn't tell us anything." said Jack. "Nothing?" said Kate, who was standing nearby.  
Jack turned. "Stubborn. You know how kids are at that age. Wanted to keep it all a secret"  
"Where'd she go?" asked Kate.  
Jack pointed. Kate turned and walked away.  
She walked until she saw a person, leaning against a tree. "Hey!" The girl turned.  
"Are you Emily?" she asked. "Yeah," said the girl. "Who wants to know"  
"My name's Kate," Kate said. She sat down beside Emily. "Are you here with your parents"  
"No." said Emily. "Family? An aunt, or a sister or something"  
"No." said Emily.  
"What were you doing in Australia?" asked Kate. "Nothing." said Emily.  
"Did you always live there? Or were you on vacation or something"  
"I didn't always live there." said Emily shortly. "And if Jack thinks that I'm going to tell you anything, he's got another thing coming. I'm just fine, Kate. I don't need anyone's help"  
"Hey, I was just asking." said Kate. "You don't have to tell me." She got up and left.  
"Nothing?" asked Jack when she got back to camp.  
Kate shook her head. "You were right. But I wish we could help her"  
"Me, too." said Jack. "Thanks for trying"  
"Hey, I wanted to help you." said Kate.  
"Me"  
"Of course." said Kate. She smiled.

Night fell, and no one had seen Emily since the morning. They were worried. No one knew what her deal was.  
Jack sat beside the fire at about eleven or so at night, wishing he could fall asleep. Beside him on one side sat Charlie and Claire, who were talking. Sawyer sat nearby, reading a book. Saiid and Jack were sitting side by side. Kate approached and sat on Jack's other side.  
"Seen Emily?" asked Kate.  
"No," said Jack. Leaves crunched nearby. Who was there? Saiid stood up to see, but then the bushes cleared and Emily came through.  
"So you want to hear my story?" she said. She sat down against a tree and looked at them.  
"If you're willing to tell us, yes." said Jack.  
Emily looked into the fire pit.  
"I'm from New York City," she said. "that's where I was born, and I lived there for a decent amount of my life. My mom, my sisters, my dad, and me"  
Kate and Jack exchanged a glance. Sawyer put down his book and looked at the girl.  
"And who's this?" he said. "Shh," said Saiid and Kate at the same time. "I was five when my dad left us," said Emily. "Right after Mindy- my little sister- was born. Hit my Mom real hard. She never saw it coming.  
"When I was seven Mom got cancer. Just like that. None of us ever saw it coming. Sara did what she could to help us, since she was the oldest and everything... but nothing was enough. So Aunt Janie moved in with us." Emily gave a little snort. "She hated us kids. She believed in what she called 'discipline', but normal people call 'abuse"  
Claire gasped a little. Emily kept going.  
"Mom died when I was ten." She sniffled a little. She was starting to cry. "Aunt Janie didn't want us. She just dumped me, Sara, and Mindy in an orphanage one day.  
"It's been foster homes all over the place since then," said Emily. "Some were okay. Some were really nasty. But I never lasted more than a year in any of them." she shook her head a bit. "I was eleven when we got the call... I was living on Long Island with this family." she shook her head some more. "This guy called... he said he was my Dad. He was in Sydney, and Mindy and Sara were both on their way. He wanted us to be a family again, just like that." she made a little "pff" noise.  
"So I came to Sydney." she was crying softly now. "My Dad's remarried. I hate my stepmother. She's a real... Aunt Janie, I guess you could say." she was still staring into the flames. "When my Dad died, I wasn't about to stay with Annie- my stepmom. There was only one other person in my Dad's will that had custody of me. His brother that I never met. He lives in LA. I contacted him. He said he wanted me to live with him and his family. He'd call Sara and Mindy, too. I was excited. I'd finally be with my sisters again." she smiled, then went "pff" again.  
"But now I'm stuck on a proverbial sandbar in the middle of nowhere telling the depths of my life story to a rocket scientist and a Warped Tour wannabe." she stood up. "I'm going to sleep. Thanks for listening, I guess"  
She left. Kate looked at Jack. He was silent. Saiid turned and looked at Sawyer, then nudged Claire to look.  
Sawyer was crying. 


	2. I Promise

Locke and Boone were having no luck hunting. They hadn't found anything at all. But they didn't even care anymore. They wanted to know what was in that hatch.  
"Look, John." said Boone. "We'll never get it open. Why even try"  
"Why even try." Locke repeated. "Why even try? I have never, ever given up in my life. And I am NOT about to start now. You can turn around and go, but I'm not going to do that"  
Boone held up his hands. "All right, all right. I'm sorry. But what the hell is in this thing?" "Don't know." said Locke. "Do you have any ideas"  
"Not a clue." said Boone. 

Back at camp, the others were just waking up. Claire hugged her knees and looked at the person across the way from her. Emily. Sad, sad story. Claire hugged her knees tighter, as tight as possible with her big, round stomach. It was raining slightly. Not the type of day anyone wanted to spend on a deserted island.  
Inside her, the baby kicked. "Hey," Claire whispered to her stomach. "Be nice"  
Despite the weather, Claire got up to get some water. Once she came back, the others were up. Emily was sitting alone against the same tree she's leaned on last night. She had her eyes closed, but she wasn't asleep.  
"Hi," said Claire. "I'm Claire"  
Emily opened her eyes. "I"m Emily. But I guess you already knew that." said the girl. "Yes, I did." said Claire. She sat down beside Emily. "What are you doing?" Emily leaned her head against the tree. "Thinking"  
"Oh," said Claire. "I've been doing a whole lot of that lately, too. Been one hell of a ride for all of us. Our lives won't ever be the same"  
Emily nodded.  
"Can I ask you something?" said Claire.  
"Shoot." said Emily.  
"Why did you lie about your name?" Emily sighed and opened her eyes again. "My mother's name was Emily too," she explained. "It's sad when I think about it. Dad didn't like my name. We were in the process of changing it to Lucy when he died. Lucy was what he wanted to name me. It was his mother's name." "What do you prefer?" asked Claire. "Emily or Lucy"  
Emily leaned back once more and fingered the locket around her next. "Emily." she said. "I miss my mother"  
Claire didn't quite know what to say. "I'm very sorry," she said. Claire looked at Emily's necklace. "What's in your locket"  
"My mom," said Emily. "Day before she died she gave me this and said to never lose it." Emily looked at Claire. "Somehow, I think she knew her time was up. Weird how things turn out, huh"  
"Yes," said Claire. She pointed to her stomach. "I'm in love with someone, but I'm holding someone elses' baby"  
Emily looked at her. "You mean you don't love Charlie? I thought you did! He's such a nice fellow, Claire, how could you"  
"No, no," said Claire, laughing slightly. She bit her lip a bit, but she figured this kid was old enough. "I'm thirteen years old, Claire." said Emily, realizing this. "I know where babies come from"  
Claire laughed a little bit. "My lousy ex-boyfriend left me when he found out I was pregnant. I met Charlie on the plane"  
"Do you love him?" asked Emily.  
Claire smiled. "Yes, I do."

Kate looked around the beach. A gentle breeze passed through. The waves crashed on the beach. "Hey, Freckles." Kate rolled her eyes. Sawyer approached her.  
"What's going on with you"  
Kate turned around. "Nothing, Sawyer"  
"You look upset"  
"Wonder why," said Kate sarcastically.  
"I'm not that annoying," said Sawyer. "I just wanna talk"  
"About what?" said Kate.  
Sawyer put up his hands. "All right, you got me." he sat down in the sand.  
Kate sat down, too. "Can I ask you something"  
"What"  
"Why'd you cry"  
Sawyer looked at her. "I don't know what you're talking about"  
"You know what I'm talking about, Sawyer." said Kate. "Is there some big secret in your past you've never told me"  
Sawyer paused for a minute. Then he said, "Yeah"  
"Feel like telling me now"  
"You're not gonna let me go otherwise, are you?" he smiled, then he looked straight ahead at the waves. "I was a foster kid when I was her age, too"  
"Really"  
"Yeah," Sawyer said. "My old man didn't want me"  
"Really?" said Kate in some surprise.  
"Yeah, so..." Sawyer just trailed off. "That's all?" said Kate. Sawyer looked at her. He almost wanted to tell her the truth. But instead he said, "Yep, that's all." 

"So what's wrong with me?" asked Emily. "I don't know yet," said Jack. He pulled one of her eyelids down. "Have you had any medical problems in the past"  
Emily shook her head, but she pulled her face away from Jack.  
Jack pulled it back. "Emily," he said. "I'm trying to help you. Have you ever had any medical problems"  
Emily mumbled something.  
"I can't hear you, could you speak up"  
"Bulimia, Jack." she said. "What"  
"You heard me, I was bulimic. When you can't control a bloody thing in your life, the only thing left is your weight. All right"  
Jack was a little stunned. He almost wanted to cry. Poor kid.  
"Emily, do you know how dangerous eating disorders are?" he said. "Bulimia does permanent damage to a person's stomach and esophagus"  
"Yeah, I know that now." she said. "I threw up everything I ate for almost two years. And now I keep throwing up at weird times"  
"You don't force yourself to throw up anymore now, do you?" asked Jack.  
"No." said Emily. "Did you ever throw up blood"  
"No." said Emily.  
Jack wasn't almost crying now. He was trying to hide it, but he couldn't. "And do you promise me," he said between intakes of breath. "that you will never, ever do it again"  
"Yes," said Emily. "I didn't know it would get me this sick"  
"You promise me?" said Jack. There were only two things in the world Jack hated with all his heart and soul- one was seeing people die and knowing that he could have helped them, and one was seeing kids suffer. He'd always wanted to be a parent, and he couldn't stand it when kids were sick. "I promise!" said Emily. "Yes, Jack, I promise!" Jack gripped her shoulder. "Okay." "So can I go or what?" asked Emily, who was always very impatient.  
"Well," said Jack. "Either your bulimia is taking over and it's already damaged your stomach, or you have a stomach virus. You're sure you haven't thrown up blood"  
"No, Jack"  
"When's the last time you forced yourself to vomit"  
Emily thought. "Oh, two months ago." she said. "My dad had just died a few days before"  
"Have you thrown up periodically since then, without forcing it"  
"Yes. A few times. Once the day before I was leaving to go to LA, and once on the plane"  
"On the plane"  
"Yeah, but I didn't hurl all that much. I thought it was motion sickness. So I didn't think much of it. And the time before that I thought I was sick. Oh, and yesterday, with Charlie in the woods"  
"That's all"  
"Yes." said Emily. Jack looked at her one last time. "All right, you can go. Remember what I said, though. And you have to eat, too"  
"I know, Jack." she called as she left. Emily walked onto the beach. Oh, great. Now Jack was going to be watching her like a hawk.  
She should have lied. But at least now she knew what was wrong with her.  
Emily put her backpack down and waded into the water. She liked living on the island better than any foster home she'd ever been in. At least these people cared about her. She hadn't seen that since her mother. Her father had always been at work. And Annie was just plain mean.  
Yes, this was paradise. Or close to it. Compared to anything Emily had ever seen before, this was paradise. 


	3. Doctor Emily

Emily wandered into the campsite. Maybe someone needed help with something. Instead, she ran into Jack, Sun, and Charlie, who were surrounding Boone.  
"A-negative," Jack was saying. "We need someone to give him blood. Boone is A-negative"  
"I'm O-Negative." said Emily.  
"What's that got to do with anything?" asked Charlie.  
"O-Negative can be given to anyone. But it's not a perfect replica of the blood. He could die from my blood"  
Charlie looked at Jack. "It's the only chance we've got"  
But Jack shook his head. "You can't, Emily"  
"Why not"  
"You're anemic, you'll get sick"  
"Like no one else on this island is"  
"You'll get sick, Emily!" Jack yelled. He reached for a tube. "I'm O-Neg, too," he said. "I'll do it"  
"But Jack-" Emily started.  
"No." said Jack firmly. "You're weak enough to begin with. You need the nutrition"  
Charlie and Sun didn't even bother to ask.  
Emily and Charlie left Jack and Sun alone to help Boone. Emily headed out to the beach, and Charlie went to find Claire. Maybe she'd take a walk with him.

"Ugh," said Claire. She sank to her knees on the soft white sand. She and Charlie had been walking along the waves, and she had suddenly felt a sharp pain in her stomach. "Ow"  
"Claire? What's wrong, love?" asked Charlie. "My stomach," she mumbled. "The baby"  
"Oh my God," said Charlie. "You're going into labor! The baby, Claire! It's coming now"  
"NO!" shouted Claire. "I can't have the baby now, I can't!" "You can't control it, sweet," said Charlie, who had bent down to her side in the sand. Claire was on her back. "I'm right here, Claire"  
"OHH!" she yelled. "Charlie, it hurts!" "Don't worry, I'll... I'll get"  
"What's going on?" Emily approached. "Claire's in labor." said Charlie frantically.  
"My half-sister was a nurse in a maternity ward," said Emily, bending down. "Maybe I can help"  
"Maybe," said Charlie. He was shaking now. "But I think it's best off we get Jack"  
Emily didn't need telling twice. She ran.  
"JACK!" She hollered. "JACK"  
"What's your damn problem?" said Sawyer, emerging from behind a tree. "What're you screamin' about"  
"I NEED THE DOCTOR!" Emily hollered. "Claire is in labor"  
"Claire? Labor? NOW?" said Sawyer.  
"That's what I said, am I speaking Swahili?" said Emily. "Where's the doctor"  
"Emily?" Kate came, panting, from behind a tree. "What's the problem"  
"Claire... she's in labor, and I need Dr. Shepard, and"  
"Jack is with Boone," said Kate. "He's giving him blood"  
"Come with me, then." said Emily. "We need someone there for the time being. He might make it. Eleanor- she's my half-sister, and she was a maternity ward nurse- she said that women are usually in labor for hours. I'll get Jack, and you guys go stay with her"  
"But what if the baby comes now?" Kate asked.  
"It won't." said Emily. "Just go." "Wait." said Sawyer. "What about Michael"  
"Michael?" said Kate, puzzled. "What does he have to do anything"  
"Doesn't he have a kid"  
"Yeah, so..." Then it hit her. "MICHAEL! Emily, I need you to go find Michael. Sawyer and I will go back to Claire"  
"They're on the beach," said Emily. She pointed, and Kate and Sawyer left.  
"MICHAEL!" she yelled. "JACK"  
She was running around like a chicken without a head. So disorderly that she bumped into none other than Jack and Sun. "OH, MY GOD!" she yelled. "Jack! Claire... Claire is in labor, and I... I though you were in the woods, and... oh, Jack, now what"  
Jack was attached to Boone by a small tube filled with blood. "Claire... she's having the baby, and we need Dr. Shepard really bad, only it seems like he's a little busy." Emily sank to her knees. "Is he all right"  
"He'll be just fine," said Jack. "Is Claire alone"  
"She's with Charlie, and Kate and Sawyer are heading over"  
"Emily," he said. "I can't be there"  
Jack said, "Emily- can you bring Claire here"  
"She can't move at all," said Emily. "Is she bleeding? Does anything hurt? How far apart are the contractions"  
Emily opened her mouth to answer, but somebody screamed.  
Emily turned and began to run, but then she paused and said to Jack: "My half-sister was a nurse in a maternity ward. If anyone on this island knows how to a deliver a baby, it's you. But since you're currently pouring your blood into someone else, it's me"  
She turned and ran.  
"COME BACK!" yelled Jack. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING! EMILY! COME BACK! YOU NEED TO BRING HER HERE! BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!" But Emily was already running, and she was a very fast runner.  
Claire screamed again. "CHARLIE!" she cried out. "IT HURTS!" She squeezed his hand tight. Emily spilled out the story to Kate, who looked pale.  
"Emily... Emily, do you know what to do"  
"Yes," said Emily. "How far apart are the contractions"  
Sun, who had come when she heard the screaming, said, "Just about two minutes"  
"Okay," said Emily. "When they're sixty seconds apart, Claire has to push, only not too hard. Or fast. The baby might die otherwise"  
Claire screamed again. "Charlie!" she whispered. "I'm scared!" Charlie held her hand. "Don't worry. We're going to take care of you"  
"Emily... then what?" said Kate. Claire screamed. "Kate..." she said. "I think my water just broke"  
Kate looked. She was nervous. She never delivered a baby before. All she had was gut instinct, and a thirteen-year-old to coach her through. "Then you should be able to see the head, and once you can, Claire pushes. And hard." "Sixty seconds," said Sun. "Push, Claire"  
She screamed. "Not that hard, Claire, not that hard!" cried Kate. Claire screamed again. God, it hurt! "Can you see it, Kate?" asked Emily. "Look"  
Kate looked. "Push, Claire!" Claire pushed again.  
"I can see it!" cried Kate. "Push, Claire"  
"AAAAAAH"  
"It's a boy!" cried Emily. "Claire! Claire, it's a boy! Charlie, look"  
Charlie looked at the baby.  
"See, love?" he said to Claire, who had dropped back on the sand, panting. "You did just fine. You did great." He turned to Emily. "You saved her." he said. "Without you, she might have died or hurt the baby." Charlie hugged her.  
Sun handed Claire her new baby boy. Claire held the screaming child in her arms.  
"Somebody get a blanket!" called Emily.  
Kate and Emily wrapped the baby in a blanket. Kate smiled. "There, there." said Claire to her baby. "Mummy's here. Don't cry, now"  
The baby gripped onto Claire's finger with one hand, and with the other, took Charlie's outstretched one.  
He stopped crying.   
Jack, who was unable to save Boone, was stressed out. Boone died. And Jack could have saved him. The first person he wanted to talk to was Kate.  
"You did good," said Jack. "Great"  
"I didn't do anything," said Kate. She pointed to Emily, who was drawing in the sand near the campfire with a stick. "Kid's amazing"  
"Yeah, she is." said Jack. "After all she's been through in her life... wow"  
Kate smiled. "I'm surprised she knew all that," said Kate. "Thirteen year old kid just delivered a baby. Wow"  
Jack smiled. Then he set his hand on Kate's shoulder and stood. She gently touched his fingers with hers, and Jack left.  
"Hey," he said. He sat down beside Emily. She looked up. "Oh. Hey"  
"I'm sorry," said Jack.  
"For what?" asked Emily.  
"For doubting that you could do it." Jack looked at Claire, who was rocking her baby to sleep. "Just because you're thirteen doesn't mean you don't know just as much as I do about delivering babies. Or anything else"  
"Yeah," said Emily.  
"You've been through a lot in your life," said Jack. "I respect you for putting up with it. It's easy to give up. I was ready to give up and I haven't faced half as much as you"  
"Yeah," said Emily again.  
Jack looked at her. "Thank you for helping Claire today"  
"Don't thank me," she said. "I had to do it"  
Jack looked at Emily with tears in his eyes. Then he hugged her.  
"Uh, yeah." said Emily.  
They sat in silence for a few moments.  
"Boone died, didn't he?" asked Emily.  
Jack choked up a bit. "Yes"  
"Do you know why he died"  
"Not completely"  
"I don't think you could have saved him, no matter how much you know. Look at where we are. There's no way he could have lived." said Emily. Jack looked at her. "Thanks, Emily." 


	4. Friends

It was late in the afternoon. The sun was low on the horizon, and it was simply beautiful. Walt was walking Vincent around the mock golf course.  
"Hey!" a voice called from the distance. Walt turned around. No one.  
"Over here!" he turned left. Emily was waving to him. "Your name's Walt, right"  
"Yeah," he said. He went up to her.  
"I'm Emily," she said. "This is Vincent," said Walt, pointing to his great big dog, who licked Emily's face.  
"Oh," she said, patting Vincent's head. "Hello, Vincent"  
Walt pulled on the leash, and Vincent backed away.  
"Want to play soccer with me?" Emily asked Walt. "I brought a ball with me"  
"Sure," said Walt. He hadn't had much to do with all these adults around. It was nice to have another kid. Even if she was older than him. And she was a girl.  
Walt and Emily let Vincent run free while they kicked the ball back and forth. Emily created a goalpost between two trees. "Wow," said Walt, stopping to catch his breath. Emily had just kicked the ball past Walt ten times. "You're really good"  
"I used to play in Central Park with my sisters," said Emily. "No one can beat me"  
"Oh, yeah?" said Walt. "Get in the goal"  
Walt kicked ten balls, and Emily had blocked eight.  
"Okay," said Walt. "You win"  
The two of them laughed, and they walked back to camp together.  
"So you're from New York?" asked Walt.  
"Yes," said Emily. "I was there until Mom died. I mostly lived in foster homes on Long Island after that. Once in Manhattan. But then I moved to Australia to be with my Dad." she squinted at the sky. "What about you"  
"My stepdad lived all over the place," said Walt. "Last place was Australia. Then my mom died. So now I'm with my real dad." He indicated towards the raft on the beach, where Walt's father was working with Jin. "Michael"  
Vincent barked. "Can I hold his leash?" asked Emily. "I'm good with animals"  
Walt handed the leash to Emily. "So where are your sisters now"  
"My sisters?" Emily said. "Last time I checked, Sara had been adopted by some family in Queens, and Mindy was in an orphanage. They were supposed to come live with Dad and me in Australia. But we couldn't get a hold of them"  
"Oh," said Walt. "I also have a half-sister, and two half-brothers. But they're much older than me. Eleanor is twenty-seven. She's very nice. She's a maternity ward nurse. That's how I knew about Claire's baby"  
"Mmm-hmm." said Walt. Emily sure talked a lot. Still, she was very nice. "My half-brothers are twenty-two and eighteen. Tyler is still in college, and Jordan still lives at home. Well, with his mom- Annie, my stepmom- and my dad." she stepped over a branch and said, "What about you"  
"Huh?" said Walt. "Do you have any brothers? Or sisters"  
"Oh. Nope." They reached the beach. Walt sat down, and Emily sat down beside him. "Just Vincent"  
Emily patted Vincent's head again. "That's nice. I never had a dog before. Or even a goldfish, or anything"  
"Yeah," said Walt. "Well, I never had a sister or a brother. Or a half-brother, or anything like that that you have"  
Emily laughed a little bit. "It's not as fun as it seems." Walt smiled. "How old are your sisters now"  
Emily thought a little bit. "Mindy is eight," she said. "and Sara is just around fifteen. I don't know where they are"  
"Oh," said Walt.  
Lull.  
"Wanna know something?" he asked Emily.  
"What"  
"Today's my birthday"  
"Oh," said Emily. "Happy Birthday. How old are you"  
"Eleven"  
"Oh." said Emily. "Nice." 


End file.
